Blood is a Strange Thing
by 54Viruses
Summary: Various drabbles, oneshots and musings on this substance that gives us life but represents death.
1. K plus Two Natures

I do not own the TMNT

_Due to certain concepts I've set up a system so that each Chapter is rated and the reason for the rating is given on each chapter._

This chapter is rated K plus for mild description of blood and violence.

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Blood. Most of it looks the same, but it's not. Even when it's on the same hand, or from the same person, it can have two natures.

Raph stared at the back of his hand where the reddish-brown stain was beginning to itch.

Beside him was Donatello. He was also looking at the blood that stained his own palms.

Although it wasn't obvious to anyone else Raph knew that the blood came from the same person. The blood itself smelled very faintly of the drug the kid had been using. Whoever that kid was he was a junkie, hardcore stuff and for a long time to get the smell in his blood. But glancing out the corner of his eye Raph could see that Donnie didn't see it the same way he did.

Where Raph saw a punk on the streets flying higher than a kite and threatening hid brothers, Donnie saw mistakes made, potential and possibly a family waiting for this kid somewhere.

The blood on Raph's hand came from a punch in the face; the kid's nose was most likely broken and he'd have a dark, ugly black eye. Probably already did.

The blood on Donnie's palm had soaked through the gauze he had pressed to the boy's head after the kid had fallen off the building.

This guy, this anonymous person, was in the hospital right now. Maybe still in intensive care. Most likely in intensive care, if not the morgue. Falling off a building isn't easy on anyone, no matter what kind of drugs are in their system. It's even harder on the body when the person is still dazed from a fist to the face. Whether the kid survived or not they would only learn if they ran into him on the streets again.

Donnie's hand's dropped to his side. He wasn't untouched by the night's events, he always hated fighting, but now that he was sure the blood couldn't have gotten into any cuts or scratches in the skin it was simply an annoyance to wash off.

Strange how the blood on Donnie's hands was nearly out of sight out of mind, but the blood on Raph's hands wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

Strange, two different kinds of blood, from the same kid.


	2. K What's on the Inside

I do not own the TMNT.

Warning! I show off what I've learned in Hematology here!

This chapter is rated K for sterile usage of blood.

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What's on the Inside

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Donnie dipped the hemostat into the tube, patiently waiting until the blood was pulled up past the mark. He then set the tiny, glass hemostat down and re-capped the tube with its purple stopper before putting it back on the chemical rocker he had jerry-rigged together.

He then carefully lifted the glass hemostat, wishing that he had more delicate fingers to do this work with as he tapped a drop of blood onto the slide. Placing the hemostat aside Donnie lifted a second slide and placed its edge against the glass of the first. The second slide was pulled back into the drop of blood, then pushed forward. Don smiled slightly when he saw the near perfect feathering effect.

While the blood dried Don cleaned up the hemostat and the spreader slide, placing them both in a shallow tray of cleaning solution because he couldn't afford to throw anything away. He then pulled three jars out of their stored place in a cabinet and set them out. Now that the blood was completely dry he dipped it carefully into each jar, counting under his breath and carefully collecting the excess that leaked off; he couldn't afford to waste a single drop of the chemicals.

After dipping the slide in the three jars Donnie carefully rinsed it off with distilled water and waited impatiently for it to dry. Finally he had a fully prepared blood smear. Donnie placed it on the stage of the microscope and easily focused until he could clearly see the bluish spheres with pink and blue blobs that made up his blood.

He couldn't help but frown slightly. Normal red blood cells were bi-concave; that is they looked a little like donuts where the frosting had partially filled the hole. But the red blood cells of himself, his brothers and their friend LeatherHead were different. Instead of a pale center on their red blood cells there was a large dark mass. The nucleus. Only reptiles and birds had nuclei in healthy mature red blood cells. Humans most certainly did not. Not even rats such as Donnie's adoptive father had this characteristic in their blood.

April would often smile at him and his brothers and announce that it was "What's on the inside that counts."

Donnie knew that this wasn't what she had meant, but every time she said that he couldn't help but think back to these slides.

It was what was on the inside that counted.

And on the inside they were still just as different as they were on the outside.


	3. K plus Pool

I do not own the TMNT

This 100 word drabble is rated K plus for blood and potentially disturbing concepts

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Pools

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Leo stood on the roof of a building staring at the pool.

It was a shame that the pool was here at all, but the size of the pool was a greater shame still.

Somebody come to this roof and when they had gone they had carelessly left most of their blood behind.

No smears marked that the person had been dragged away and there were no drops leading away as if they had been carried.

Why had somebody come to the roof and left behind their blood?

And why hadn't he been here earlier, before the blood was left?


	4. K plus Fresh

I do not own the TMNT

This chapter is rated K plus for references inapropriate to younger audiences

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Chapter four; Fresh

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"Ach! Shell!" Mikey cursed and barely stopped himself from sticking his bleeding finger in his mouth. "Geez." He hissed as the stinging pain of onion juices sunk into the cut provided by the knife. Normally this would call for a trip to the sink to rinse the cut but something stopped him.

For some reason Mikey found himself fascinated by the deep red liquid slowly oozing down his green finger. Green and red, but definitely not Christmas.

There was just something about fresh blood. Sure when one did most of the cooking in the family one tended to handle blood that oozed from raw meat, but that was different. Greasy, old, and pale.

There was just something about fresh blood that was thick and vivid and…and, and wrong. Mikey figured it was because if he was seeing the blood it wasn't where it was supposed to be, which was _in_ somebody.

Or some body.

"Mikey really, do I have to give you lessons on how to cut food instead of yourself?"

Shaken out of his reverie Mikey put on a smile, "Right, this from the turtle who nearly dissected himself with a scalpel."

"None of you guys would volunteer." Donnie smirked back at his little brother, silently wondering why there was so much blood, either the cut was larger than a regular cooking accident or for some reason Mikey hadn't treated it. "Besides, none of us want our food spiced with 'essence of brother'."

"Don't knock it till you've tried it." Mikey grinned as he moved to the sink to wash his hand off.

"No thanks." Donnie replied. As he turned to leave the kitchen he couldn't help but suppress a slight shudder.

There was just something about fresh blood…

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Please review.


	5. T The Stain

This chapter rated T for mental trauma and disorder.

I do not own the TMNT

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Chapter six; The Stain

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April sat up and straightened her back. She stretched her arms out in front of her and leaned back until she heard and felt several satisfying pops release pressure along her spine.

She had been working on a large and dark blood stain in the wood all morning. April didn't understand why it wasn't coming out. None of the usual cleaning products, the heavy duty stuff she had purchased nor even her grandmother's secret cleaning mix was getting this floor clean. That just didn't make since because she had scrubbed tons of similar stains out without trouble.

An annoyed puff of air pushed her bangs up on her forehead. "Looks like I'm going to have to get somebody to refinish the floor." She muttered. As April considered the cost of refinishing the floor she decided to try and get the stain out one last time, maybe a little more elbow grease would do the trick.

April collected a bucket and more cleaning solution and was soon scrubbing at the stain with the vengeance that only red-headed women are capable of.

Casey entered the store. "Babe?"

"Right here Casey." April replied. Casey went around the counter and saw April on the floor scrubbing with all her might, around her brush the soap she was using was beginning to lather up pink.

"Did somebody's kid puke on the floor again?" Casey asked.

"No. It's the same mess from last Saturday." April replied. She scrubbed harder; if that was possible. "It must have set into the finish."

Casey frowned. After the police had left Saturday he had personally mopped up every last drop of blood in the store, it had even met Donnie's inspection. "Mind if I, uh, take a wack at it?" He offered.

"Sure, have at it Mr. Hero." With a smile April handed Casey the scrub brush and he knelt down next to the place April had been scrubbing at.

He used the brush to push aside the soapy foam and take a look at the floor. The finish was ruined, discolored and bubbling slightly from exposure to harsh chemicals and heavy scrubbing.

"Casey!" April admonished, "You don't expect that to work do you?" She took the brush back and continued scrubbing, her arm straining and the bristles crushed beneath the pressure she was exerting.

"Uh…" Casey watched her for a minute. "April, is what happened Saturday botherin' ya any?"

"No Casey. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, uh, you know. It was your first time without backup getting' here in time, and the guy was pretty mean…" Casey watched the pink soap suds uncomfortably.

"I'm fine Casey. The guy didn't hurt me before I stopped him. Thanks for your concern." Scrubbing, the bristles of the brush crunched slightly as she rapidly pushed the brush back and forth. The pink in the soap was getting darker.

"April, babe, Stop!" Casey grabbed her wrist and pulled the brush from her fingers. "April, look, there's no stain. The blood's gone."

She glanced at the spot on the floor she had been scrubbing. "Casey, really, what do you think that brown stuff is?" She asked, her voice was slightly teasing, like it always was when he was being stupid, but cute.

"April, do you really see a stain there?" Casey pressed gently.

"It's kind of hard to miss."

Casey nodded, "That's what I thought. I'm callin' Master Splinter." He released her wrist. "But I'm takin' this with me." He held up the brush before standing and moving to April's landline.

"Casey, you're being a little silly." April chastised lightly. She was still smiling as she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her fingers leaving a bloody smear across her cheek.


	6. T Don't Stop

This chapter rated T for gore and potentially disturbing concepts.

I do not own the TMNT

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Don't stop.

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The metal shackles were rusted and made of poor metal to start with, but they were still strong enough to hold Donnie and his brothers. They were chained to a wall with Mikey on his right and Leo on his left. Raph was chained to the wall on the other side of Leo. The hands of Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello were badly chaffed and cut from struggling against their bonds, trying to find a weakness in the poor quality of metal.

Mikey just hung there, head down. They could all see the wound on his scalp from where he had been hit, it was a nasty wound, one of the many they all sported. But Mikey seemed to be in the worst shape.

Raph and Leo would frequently glance over to the turtle in the tattered and stained orange band, then glance to Donnie for any information. Of course they were scared. There was a lot of blood and there was no sign of movement from Michelangelo's chest or plastron. With their hands chained above their heads it was impossible for them to reach one another so there was no way Donnie could check on Mikey's pulse.

It seemed like they had been down there for hours before the tension finally became too much, Raph had to ask. "Don, Mikey…is he…?"

"No." Donnie shook his head and pulled some more at cuffs on his wrists. "He's not dead." He sounded far too certain. But despite his certainty he still pulled at and tested the cuffs till his own blood oozed down through the dirt and rust. Mikey might still be alive, but there was something about him that was worrying their brother.

"How…How can you tell, Don?" Leo managed to hide most of the concern and fear in his voice, most if not all.

Donatello glanced over at their still motionless brother, the cuts, the bruises, and the gash just above the mask. "He's still bleeding." Donnie explained, "The bleeding means his heart is still working."

He didn't mention how slowly the blood oozed down Mikey's face before slipping over his beak and tracing a line down his neck. So slowly.

Donnie pulled harder at his bonds.


	7. K Blood Bond

Don't own them!

My first story with tots! The mention of blood is minimal, but it still fits... kind of...

Rated K; for Tot/Splinter fluff

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Blood Bond

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The noise was somewhere between an animal's frightened cry and a human child's scream. Immediately Splinter dropped the food he had been storing and hurried into the next tunnel where he had thought his new charges were safe.

On the floor one of the young turtles was sitting alone while two others clung to each other in fright and the last was trying to get to Splinter as quickly as possible despite his unsteady ability to walk. The lone turtle on the floor was the cause of the terrified wail but had stopped quickly. As Splinter hurried closer he discovered the little turtle was trying to wipe the red stuff off of his leg, but the blood continued to well up as steadily as the tears in his eyes.

It took Splinter a moment to realize the source of the young turtles' panic. Never before had they seen blood. Fortunately there was only a little and Splinter was sure that with a little care it would be fine. He lifted the small turtle who promptly cuddled closer to him, whimpering in fear. Humming what he could remember of a song he'd once heard, Splinter carried the turtle into the room where he kept their supplies. After retrieving a couple rags and some clean water stored in a cracked cup Splinter carefully cleaned the small turtle's first wound, revealing it to be nothing more serious than a scraped knee, an injury common to young human children.

After cleaning the wound Splinter carefully wrapped another rag around the turtle's tiny knee, wishing he had a better way to keep their injuries clean. Once the rag was tied securely in place he smiled again at the young turtle. "Just an ouch." He told the young one.

"Ouch." The little terrapin replied, rolling the word around his mouth carefully.

"Yes." Splinter confirmed before giving his young son another hug. "It will disappear in a few days." He assured the turtle.

A slight tug at the fur on his side made Splinter look down to where the other turtles huddled, looking worried. Splinter shifted his wounded son so the others could see he was alright. "Ouch!" The injured warrior announced proudly. He was promptly and thoroughly hugged by his brothers.

* * *

"Ouch." Donatello mumbled as he lifted the gauze to look at the cut. His hand was slapped lightly and Donatello quickly replaced the gauze.

Beside him Master Splinter worked to cover other cuts and a few burns from Donatello's latest experiment. The hope was to get the worst of it covered before Donatello's brother's returned from their film. "Donatello," Master Splinter asked in that 'please don't let this be something that deserves a punishment' voice he sometimes took on, "Kindly tell me how this happened."

"Well… I was getting ready to turn in for the night…" Master Splinter's brows rose in doubt but he didn't interrupt, "And I… kind of… tripped." Donatello frowned at his father when the rat master chuckled slightly. "I upset one of my tables and apparently some chemicals that were never intended to mix did just that."

On the other side of the lair the stone doors of the elevator could be heard. Soon the lair was filled with the laughter and re-enactments that typically followed a well enjoyed movie. The noise stopped rather suddenly and soon all three of Donatello's brother's ran to the infirmary. Before they arrived Master Splinter quickly bandaged the last cut and stepped back.

"Don!" Raphael called, getting to the door first.

"Don, we saw the lab, are you all right?" Leonardo and Michelangelo arrived at the same time but whereas Leo stopped at the door with Raphael, Michelangelo ran right in and tackled his brother to the floor. While Donatello smiled and assured his brothers he was fine, nothing serious, Master Splinter couldn't help but chuckle to himself.


End file.
